US-China Commission Report - Fatal System Error

People’s Republic of China, and the fiscal strength of the People’s
Republic of China in relation to internal instability in the People’s
Republic of China and the likelihood of the externalization
of problems arising from such internal instability;
• UNITED STATES–CHINA BILATERAL PROGRAMS—Science
and technology programs, the degree of noncompliance by
the People’s Republic of China with agreements between the
United States and the People’s Republic of China on prison labor
imports and intellectual property rights, and United States enforcement
policies with respect to such agreements;
• WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION COMPLIANCE—The compliance
of the People’s Republic of China with its accession agreement
to the World Trade Organization; and
• FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION—The implications of restrictions
on speech and access to information in the People’s Republic of
China for its relations with the United States in the areas of economic
and security policy.
The Commission conducted its work through a comprehensive set
of nine public hearings, taking testimony from over 92 witnesses
from the Congress, the executive branch, industry, academia, policy
groups, and other experts. It conducted eight of these hearings in
Washington, DC, and conducted one field hearing in New Orleans,
Louisiana, on seafood imported into the United States. For each of
its hearings, the Commission produced a transcript (posted on its
Web site—www.uscc.gov). The Commission also received a number
of briefings by officials of executive branch agencies, intelligence
community agencies, and the armed services, including two days of
classified briefings on China’s cyber operations and espionage. (The
Commission is preparing a classified report to Congress on those
topics.)
Commissioners also conducted official visits to China, Hong
Kong, and Taiwan, and to South Korea and Japan to hear and discuss
the perspectives of those nations on China and its global and
regional activities. In these visits, the Commission delegations met
with U.S. diplomats, host government officials, representatives of
the U.S. and foreign business communities, and local experts.
The Commission also relied substantially on the work of its excellent
professional staff, and supported outside research in accordance
with our mandate.
The Report includes 45 recommendations for Congressional action.
Our 10 most important recommendations appear on page 17
at the conclusion of the Executive Summary.
We offer this Report to the Congress in the hope that it will be
useful as an updated baseline for assessing progress and challenges
in U.S.-China relations.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve. We look forward to continuing
to work with you in the next Congress to address issues of
concern in the U.S.-China relationship.
Yours truly,
Larry M. Wortzel
Chairman
Carolyn Bartholomew
Vice Chairman
iv